Confusion about palliative care vs. hospice is understandable – InForum

Dear Carol: After caring for my mother for years, I moved her into memory care because of her dementia. At 93 years old, she disappears. This memory care has some medical care available at an additional cost and they have been wonderful. I was told that Mom probably doesn’t qualify for hospice care yet, but that palliative care could help keep her comfortable. I know that hospice and palliative care both try to provide comfort care, but how are they different? I appreciate your help. – SP

Dear SP: I’m sorry about your mother’s poor health. Although we all know that life is limited, we are rarely ready to admit to ourselves that someone we love may soon pass.

You are correct that both palliative care and hospice care are related in that they provide care aimed at increasing the person’s quality of life. Let’s see how it works.

Palliative care can be provided alongside drugs and potentially curative treatments. The team generally includes a doctor and a nurse trained in palliative care. Ideally, a specially trained social worker is also involved, and for those who wish, a non-denominational chaplain can assist the patient and their family. In most cases, insurance should cover at least part of the cost.

Key point: Although palliative care is not curative, it can be used alongside curative methods such as blood pressure, heart and lung medicines, and chemotherapy.

Hospice care is covered by insurance, but to qualify, a person must be certified by a doctor as having a life expectancy of six months or less. Hospice opens the door to enhanced services for older adults and their families, regardless of setting. Like palliative care, hospice provides physical, emotional and spiritual support.

Key point: With hospice care, curative treatment is stopped. This is because both doctors and patients understand that the treatment will provide little additional benefit and, in some cases, prolong the misery.

Hospice care does not mean giving up. It is an active choice that allows people diagnosed as needing end-of-life care to remain as comfortable as possible for the time they have left. In many cases, this will allow them to enjoy family and friends in a setting of their choosing. When their time comes, hospice patients die naturally and as peacefully as possible.

People often wait too long to seek hospice care. What they don’t know is that many patients get better once they enter hospice care because the often-complicated cocktail of medications they’ve been taking has been eliminated. Some will even improve so much that they are out of the hospital for the time being. Because of this, hospice workers say the most common comment they hear is, “We wish we hadn’t waited so long. The family has missed so much support.”

If your community offers multiple agency options, ask others who have used the services about each option. Historically, non-profit hospices receive more praise than for-profit hospices, but this is not always the case.

For more information on hospice care, see

Hospice nurse Julie

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My heart goes out to you, SP.